Student Handbook - Hoosic Valley Central School

Staff members and students will be educated to help create a climate of mutual respect
and dignity for all students regardless of actual or perceived race, color, weight, national origin,
ethnic group, religion or religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender (including
gender identity or expression, actual or perceived) sex, physical appearance or attribute,
socioeconomic status or life circumstance, which will help strengthen student’s confidence and
promote learning. Staff shall also be trained to recognize that under federal civil rights laws
and regulations, students are protected from harassment by school employees, other students
and third parties. They shall also be trained to understand that some student misconduct
which violates or falls under the District’s anti-discrimination or anti-harassment policies may
also implicate one or more of the federal civil rights laws enforced by the Office of Civil Rights of
the Education Department.
Staff members will be provided training to raise awareness and sensitivity to potential acts
of discrimination or harassment directed at students that are committed by students or school
employees on school property or at school functions. Staff members will be trained to recognize
and respond to incidents of discrimination and harassment and to timely report incidents of
discrimination and harassment that they witness or that are brought to a staff member’s
attention. Through training, staff will learn to address personal biases that may prevent the
equal treatment of all students in the school or classroom setting and to promote and maintain
a climate of mutual respect and dignity for all students to strengthen student’s confidence and
to promote learning. All staff with direct student contact will receive district-wide instruction on
promoting a positive school environment free from discrimination and to discourage and
respond to incidents of discrimination or harassment. The Superintendent and the Professional
Development Coordinator will incorporate training to support this anti-discrimination and
harassment policy into new teacher orientation and the annual professional development plan.
B. Instruction in Civility, Citizenship and Character Education Grades K-12
Students shall receive instruction in patriotism and citizenship as required by Section 801
of the Education Law. In addition, students shall be instructed to raise awareness and
sensitivity to discrimination or harassment and to promote civility in the relations of people of
different races, weights, national origins, ethnic groups, religions, religious practices, mental or
physical abilities, sexual orientations, genders, gender expressions or identities and sexes.
Curricular materials related to the above topics will be included in the instructional program for
grades K-12. The District will use a variety of means to set forth clear expectations for student
conduct and behavior, including a bill of rights and responsibilities for students which focuses
on positive student behavior and the goal of promoting a safe and supportive school climate and
learning environment for all students.
C. Intervention
Intervention at the earliest stage possible is key to preventing escalation of harassment
and discrimination and to encourage proactive resolution to promote a positive learning
environment for all students. Intervention efforts will emphasize measured, balanced and ageappropriate
responses to the discrimination and harassment of students by students and/or
employees focusing on education and should be designed to discourage another occurrence of
the behavior.
Successful intervention may involve remedial measures. Remedial responses to bullying
and harassment include measures designed to correct the problem behavior, prevent another
occurrence of the behavior and protect the target of the act. Remediation may be targeted to the
individual(s) involved in the harassing or discriminatory behavior or may include environmental
approaches which are targeted to the school or district as a whole. Individual-focused remedial
measures may include, but are not limited to peer support groups; corrective instruction or
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Hoosic Valley Central School District